“I don’t need to make a will. My partner will get it all anyway.”

It’s a common misconception. People assume that assets pass automatically between a couple when one of them dies. But the law doesn’t work like that.

Making a will is the best way of ensuring that the things you own will pass to the people, or places, you choose. When someone dies without having made a will, the division of their estate is left to the rules of intestacy. These rules set out the order in which certain categories of people inherit. This carries the risk that those you’d intended to benefit from your estate do not, and that those you didn’t, do. 

Intestacy leads to different results depending on whether you are married/civil partners, or not. There are also different consequences if you have children.

Unmarried couples

Even though a couple may have lived together for many years, the lack of legal status (marriage or civil partnership) will deny the surviving partner inheritance. Instead, the rules of intestacy say that the estate must be divided in this order:

1. Children or their descendants
2. Parents
3. Brothers, sisters or their descendants
4. Half-siblings or their descendants
5. Grandparents
6. Uncles, aunts or their descendants
7. Half-uncles, aunts or their descendants.

Married couples and civil partners

The law is more protective of those in a marriage or civil partnership. Where one person in the relationship dies, the other is entitled to inherit under the rules of intestacy and the extent of that inheritance depends on the circumstances:

Married/civil partnership, without children – surviving partner inherits everything. 

Married/civil partnership, with biological or adopted children – surviving partner receives all personal belongings, plus the first £322,000 of the estate. Any amount over £322,000 would be split equally with the children.

Despite calls for greater rights for unmarried couples, the law continues to offer little protection. However, making a will is a straightforward way of specifically providing for a loved one who is not your husband, wife or civil partner. It’s a wise step to take when the alternative could leave them out in the cold.

For advice about inheritance and for help in making a will, contact our team on wills@bsandi.co.uk or call 01264 353411.